FEDERICO TITO MORED, 36, and APRIL MARIE NISSEN, 29, both of Federal Way, Washington pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle today to a seven count indictment charging them with Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft, Computer Fraud, Credit Card Fraud, Identity Fraud and multiple counts of Aggravated Identity Theft. The pair are scheduled for trial before U.S. District Judge James Robart on December 12, 2006.

According to the indictment, MORED, while employed at a janitorial company working at night in a U.S. Bank branch, joined with other conspirators to steal information on more than 200 bank customers. Using that information, MORED and NISSEN opened credit accounts in the customers names, and signed up for on line banking for accounts that had not previously had on line banking. Using the credit card accounts, they purchased expensive items such as laptop computers, flat screen televisions and airline tickets. Using on line banking they paid their own bills and transferred funds to checking accounts that they then drained. They also submitted change of address requests on line, so that the customers did not get their bank statements alerting them to the problem. The indictment charges them with more than $200,000 in fraud against dozens of victims.

An indictment contains allegations that have not yet been proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted of Aggravated Identity Theft, each count carries an additional two year term on top of the sentence for an underlying fraud conviction.

MORED and NISSEN and their co-conspirators are being investigated by the King County Sheriff’s Department, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Kim Frierson as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office working group on Identity Theft.

For additional information on this case, or on the ID Theft Working Group, please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.

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